FIFA 20 Career Mode: Top 10 young Central Midfielders (CMs) to sign - De Jong, Arthur, Fabian & more

Central Midfielders (CMs) have to be some of the most important players in football today - they are required to attack, defend, whilst reading and adapting to a game.

As you can imagine, this means top-class CMs aren't easy to come by - therefore, investing in a young talent to nurture into a future star is a great method.

Keep reading below as we bring you our list of the best young centre mids available on FIFA 20.

How to choose the best young central midfielders (CMs) on FIFA 20 Career Mode

Here we are looking at the best young central midfielders (CM) aged between 20 and 23 years old.

They will all start the 2019/20 season with a rating of at least 78, with the potential to improve to a rating of 82 or more. 

Bear in mind, occasionally players can outgrow their potentials, providing they perform exceptionally well for a long period.

READ MORE: Best Young STs to sign on FIFA 20 Career Mode

These high potential future stars don’t cost as much as the top central midfielders, but they will still set you back a fair bit of cash. 

For a full list of all the best young central midfielders (CMs) on Career Mode, look at the table at the end of this page. 

Frenkie de Jong (OVR 86 – POT 92)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM

Club: Barcelona

Country: Netherlands

Value: £54 million (Release Clause: £121.5 million)

Wage: £189,000 a week

De Jong scored 4 goals and made 4 assists in the 2018/19 season which Ajax performed incredibly in. The Dutch midfielder and his team won the Eredivisie, a Dutch domestic trophy and, of course, made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Having signed for Barcelona this summer, you can either sign de Jong immediately for his whopping £121.5 million release clause, or wait until January 2020 and pay a slightly cheaper fee of £90 million. His wage bill of £189,000 is also substantial, but with a potential of 92, what did you expect?

Arthur (OVR 85 – POT 90)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM

Club: Barcelona

Country: Brazil

Value: £45.5 million (Release Clause: £96.6 million)

Wage: £171,000 a week

Having moved to Barcelona last season, Arthur made 44 appearances for the Spanish club, helping them win La Liga. However, he only achieved two assists the entire season, perhaps your club could yield a higher output from the Brazilian?

READ MORE: Best Young STs to sign on FIFA 20 Career Mode

Arthur is a natural with the ball at his feet and will have no trouble creating space for himself. The Barcelona man will cost you a hefty £75 million to sign and you’ll have to fulfill his extensive £171,000 a week wage demands.

Fabian Ruiz (OVR 83 – POT 89)

Age: 23

Position(s): CM

Club: Napoli

Country: Spain

Value: £31.5 million (Release Clause: £59.9 million)

Wage: £68,000 a week

Fabian had a strong 2018/19 season, with a decent output of seven goals and three assists for Napoli and his contribution to Spain’s under 21 European Championship victory. 

The Spaniard will perform well as a link between your defence and attack, costing you around £55 million transfer fee and £75,000 a week in wages.

Donny van de Beek (OVR 83 - POT 87)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM CAM

Club: Ajax

Country: Netherlands

Value: £29.7 million (Release Clause: £43.8 million)

Wage: £25,000 a week

Donny van de Beek first came to the limelight in Ajax’s 2018/19 Champions League campaign in which he scored against Spurs and impressed against Real Madrid which saw him nearly earn a move to Los Blancos last summer.

With 87 overall potential the Dutchman will cost you around the £40 million mark and you’ll have to increase his wages to £70,000 a week.

Federico Valverde (OVR 82 - POT 90)

Age: 20

Position(s): CM, CDM

Club: Real Madrid

Country: Uruguay

Value: £29.3 million (Release Clause: £65.8 million)

Wage: £113,000 a week

Federico Valverde has come on leaps and bounds this season, making over 20 league appearances for Real Madrid. Not bad for a 20-year-old!

READ MORE: Best Young LWs to sign on FIFA 20 Career Mode

His talents at such a young age suggest that the Uruguayan has a bright future and his 90 potential overall on FIFA 20 reflects this. He’ll cost you around £65 million which is a lot for an 82 rated player, but he definitely makes a great investment.

Giovani Lo Celso (OVR 82 – POT 87)

Age: 23

Position(s): CM, CAM

Club: Tottenham Hotspur (on loan from Real Betis)

Country: Argentina

Value: £26.1 million 

Wage: £86,000 a week 

Lo Celso played a huge part in PSG’s treble winning season of 2017/18, with six goals and seven assists in 48 appearances. But, the following season only played a measly one game for the French champions. Real Betis activated a buy back clause on the Argentinian last summer and sent him on loan to Spurs with an obligation to buy next season.

This means you will have to wait until summer 2020 to sign Lo Celso who will likely cost around £60 million, if he has improved, and will demand wages of £110,000 a week. 

Ruben Neves (OVR 82 – POT 87)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM

Club: Wolves

Country: Portugal

Value: £26.1 million (Release Clause: £51.5 million)

Wage: £80,000 a week 

Neves’ five goals and three assists for Wolves last season do not tell the whole story, as the Portuguese midfielder played a vital role in his side’s seventh-place Premier League finish.

Neves’ playmaking ability means he could easily rack up plenty of assists at your club. The midfielder will cost you £50 million and his £80,000 a week wage bill.

Houssem Aouar (OVR 81 – POT 89)

Age: 21

Position(s): CM, LM

Club: Lyon

Country: France

Value: £23.4 million (Release Clause: £49.1 million)

Wage: £53,000 a week

Aouar is a product of the Lyon youth system, making his first team debut at just 18 years of age. Since then he has accrued 24 goals and 24 assists across 133 appearances for the French club.

READ MORE: Best Young RWs to sign on FIFA 20 Career Mode

The Frenchman has solid stats in dribbling, short passing, ball control and vision. Aouar will set you back £40 million and you’ll have to increase his wages to £80,000 a week.

Dani Ceballos (OVR 81 – POT 86)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM, CAM

Club: Arsenal (on loan from Real Madrid)

Country: Spain

Value: £21.2 million 

Wage: £74,000 a week

After featuring 23 times for Real Madrid in La Liga last season it seemed like Ceballos was on the verge of becoming a first team regular. However, Real Madrid’s competitive nature meant he was loaned out to Arsenal for the 2019/20 season.

You’ll have to wait until summer 2020 until you can sign the Spaniard at which point he’ll cost around £45 million and £80,000 in wages. 

Youri Tielemans (OVR 81 – POT 87)

Age: 22

Position(s): CM, CDM

Club: Leicester

Country: Belgium

Value: £21.6 million (Release Clause: £45.4 million)

Wage: £74,000 a week 

Tielemans joined Leicester on loan in January 2019 and achieved three goals and five assists in just 13 Premier League appearances. Therefore, Leicester decided to sign the Belgium midfielder on a permanent deal worth £40.5 million last summer.

READ MORE: Best Young LWs to sign on FIFA 20 Career Mode

However, with a release clause of £45.4 million you can snap the Belgian up straight away, if you’re willing to boost his current wage to around £90,000 a week.

All the Best Young Central Midfielders (CM) on FIFA 20

* Currently on loan

Another great way to utilise your Career Mode transfer budget is through contract expiry signings.

Players who are in the final six months of their contract can be signed on pre-contract agreements for free, meaning you don’t have to exhaust your entire budget to bring in top-class players.

Head here for everything you need to know about contract expiry signings and which top talents are available for pre-contract agreements in FIFA 20.